


Laser tag date

by omfg_otp



Series: One-shots [6]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: BUT WITH POWERS, Fluff, Laser Tag, Light Angst, M/M, nothing major
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-12 12:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4479479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omfg_otp/pseuds/omfg_otp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico's feeling a bit bored lately, and after a talk with his boyfriend, Will seems to have come up with a great way to have fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Laser tag date

**Author's Note:**

> Nico and Will have been dating for a long time when this fic starts, and they are also over the age of consent. There's no smut in it, but I just felt like it was important to point that out.
> 
> This fic also includes one of my favorite Will headcanons, which is that he can control light. 
> 
> Enjoy :D

Date night for Nico and Will is not what one would expect. Not that they do anything weird, it’s more the fact that they _don’t_ do anything weird. They’re demigods right? You’d expect at least one monster attack per date, followed by running into an angry nymph/spirit, and topped off with accidentally upsetting a minor god, but no, their dates are actually incredibly...normal.

It’s not that Nico _dislikes_ them; he could never dislike hanging out with Will. It’s just that, they ‘hang out’ at camp a lot already: in the infirmary, at the lake, at the campfire, etc., so it’s hard for Nico to distinguish between what classifies as a date and what doesn’t.

“Nico?”

“Hmm?” he replies to whoever’s bothering him.

“You seem distracted, is everything okay?” He looks up to find Hazel sitting across from him. The Romans have been visiting camp for the past week, and Nico is glad to see his sister again.

“I’m fine,” he says in response to Hazel’s concerns. It was a stupid thing to worry about anyway, he thinks to himself. For the first time in a very long time, he’s _happy_ , and a big part of that is because of Will. So what if he’s a little _bored_? That doesn’t mean anything is _wrong_ with his relationship, right?

“Nico, I know that face,” Hazel persisted, munching on a slice of toast. “It’s your brooding face. Now tell me what’s wrong before I have to beat it out of you.”

He knows she wouldn’t do that, but he also knows she _would_ try and _tickle_ it out of him, which, in Nico’s opinion, is much worse.

“You and Frank go on dates, right?” he asks, not really sure how to approach the subject with Hazel; this isn’t the sort of thing the children of Death usually talk to each other about.

“Sure…” Hazel replies hesitantly, and Nico gestures for her to continue. “We generally go to coffee shops or restaurants in New Rome. Sometimes we watch movies together, but that’s not really my thing.”

Nico nods his head, expecting something like this. It sounded similar to his dates with Will. They ate together almost daily, and they’ve certainly watched a whole lot of movies together.

So why does Nico feel so... discontent?

“And that’s fun for you?” he presses. “You don’t ever feel like you want… I don’t know, more?”

She frowns at him, probably trying to figure out what’s going on in Nico’s head. “Why would I need any more than that? I’m happy.”

And that... well that’s really nice to hear. His sister is happy, which gives Nico no small amount of joy.

“What’s this about Nico?” Hazel asks, bringing his thoughts back to the conversation. He sighs, fidgeting with the sleeves of his (Will’s) jacket.

“I don’t know Hazel, I just feel…” He pauses, searching for the right word. “... stuck.”

“Stuck?” she asks, confused.

“Yeah, like…” He sighs in frustration. “I don’t- I just feel like I need to be doing _more_.” He looks at Hazel, hoping she understands, but it’s obvious by her still confused expression he’s not articulating himself very well.

“And this is to do with Will?” she asks, trying to see what he’s getting at.

“No, not specifically. It’s to do with my life in general, but seeing as Will’s a big part of that, he’s also a big part of...of whatever it is I’m feeling.”

Hazel nods. “Well, you know what you’ve got to do then?”

Nico shakes his head.

“You’ve got to talk to him.”

**  
  
**

* * *

 

**  
  
**

He waits for Hazel and the other Romans to leave before he approaches the subject with Will, partly because he’ll need the privacy of his cabin for this conversation, but mainly because he wanted to spend as much time with Hazel as possible without any ‘relationship drama’.

“We need to talk,” he tells Will while they’re snuggled up on his bed together after having watched a movie. He regrets his choice of words immediately, as he feels Will’s body stiffen slightly. “Not a bad talk, just... a talk,” he amends quickly, before Will gets the wrong idea.

“What about?” Will asks, confusion etched across the blond’s face.

Nico sits up, wanting to get a little distance between them before answering. Will frowns as he slips out of his arms, but doesn’t say anything.

“I...When Hazel was here, we talked, and I tried to tell her about these...feelings I’ve been having lately, and she said I should talk to you about it, because, well, you’re one of the most important people in my life, but I really don’t want you to get the wrong idea about what I’m saying.”

Will blinks, obviously trying to take in what he’s saying. “Okay…” he says slowly. “And what exactly _are_ you trying to say?”

“I feel… I don’t know how to explain it properly, but I feel like I need _more_. It feels like I’m... stuck here.”

As he speaks, Will’s face goes from confused to concerned. He reaches out timidly for Nico’s hand, which Nico takes firmly, twining their fingers together. He doesn’t want Will to think this is a break up talk, because it’s _not_.

“You’re going to have to expand on that. I’m not sure I know what you mean,” says the blond as he looks down at their clasped hands. He looks worried and upset, and the _last_ thing Nico wants is Will thinking this is somehow _his_ fault. Nico uses the hand not wrapped in Will’s to tilt the other boy’s head up so their eyes meet. He smiles slightly, before pecking the blond’s lips, which seems to work in cheering him up. Will stops looking like a kicked puppy and has a small smile dancing across his face.

Nico sighs, turning his thoughts back to the conversation at hand and how to describe to Will the feelings he’d been having recently.

“I think the only way to explain it is that I feel like I should be doing something more. We spend all our time doing exactly the same things: hanging out, watching movies, training, sitting at the campfire; it’s the same things happening over and over again, everyday.”

“So, you feel like you’re stuck in a rut?” Will interjects, looking more like he understands what Nico is trying to say. Nico gives himself a mental pat on the back for finally being able to

communicate something.

 

He nods in agreement. “Yeah, like that.”

“Maybe,” Will goes on, “you’re not used to living like this. You spent your time before coming to camp travelling around a lot, fighting monsters, going on missions for your Dad. Now that I think about it, you’re probably bored out of your mind living here, doing the same thing everyday.”

Nico smirks slightly. “Oh, I don’t know. There are some things around here that entertain me.”

Will looks at him, affronted. “Is that all I am to you? Entertainment?”

Nico rolls his eyes at his overdramatic boyfriend, before tackling him onto the mattress.

“You’re a lot more than that, and you know it,” he says sincerely, looking into Will’s eyes from his vantage point above him.

Will’s cheeks start glowing slightly, like they do everytime he says something even vaguely romantic. The blond pulls him into a deep kiss, their lips moving lazily together like the hundreds of times they’ve done this before.

_This,_ Nico thinks to himself, _this I will_ never _get bored of._

**  
  
**

* * *

 

**  
  
**

“So,” Will pants into his ear when they finally finish making out. “How are we going to make it better?”

Nico looks at his boyfriend, blushing at his slightly disheveled appearance. “Better?”

Will rolls his eyes. “Yes, better. Now that we know what the problem is, we can fix it.”

Nico thinks about that for a second. ”Okay, got any ideas?”

“Hmmm,” Will hums thoughtfully. “In the immortal words of the Spice Girls, we need to find a way to ‘Spice up your life’.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Nico asks, ignoring Will’s attempt at humour. “Should I go and pick a fight with the first monster I see?”

The blond glares at him. “Absolutely not! You’re not going to unnecessarily put yourself in harms way for shits and giggles!”

“Then, what?”

“Just leave it to me.”

**  
  
**

 

* * *

**  
  
**

 

When Will informed him a week later that their next date would involve asking Chiron if they could leave camp, Nico got excited. When Will told him he would need to borrow Jules-Albert to take them there, Nico got curious. Now, Will holds out a blindfold with an excited look on his face, and Nico is downright confused.

“I know you want to experiment in the bedroom a bit, but shouldn’t we talk about that first?”

The adorable blush that spread across the son of Apollo’s cheeks never failed to amuse Nico.

“Just put it on and get in the car.”

“And they say romance is dead,” he quips, but does as his boyfriend says.

 

The ride in the car is relatively short, mostly spent holding hands and playfully flirting with each other, though it’s not as much fun as when Nico can see Will’s reactions to the things he says.

“Are we getting close?” Nico finally asks.

“Yeah, it should only be a few more minutes.”

“Where are we going?” Nico can’t help asking. He’s _dying_ with curiosity.

“Telling you that would make the blindfold irrelevant,” Will replies, “But I think you’ll like it.” He sounds almost nervous when he says the last bit, and Nico squeezes his hand in reassurance.

“I’m sure I’ll love it, I’m with you after all.”

There’s a few seconds of silence, then he feels Will’s lips against his own. He leans forward into the kiss, wanting to convey how grateful he is that Will’s doing all of this just for him. The car stops, and Will breaks away, whispering,

“We’re here.”

A flare of excitement goes through Nico, and Will pulls him out of the car to stand. Apparently, the blindfold isn’t coming off just yet, as Will guides Nico forward, occasionally telling him to stop, or turn, or step up or down. Eventually they come to a stop, and Will steps in front of him.

“Okay, you can look now.”

Nico instantly goes to untie the blindfold, curiosity eating at him. When light finally reaches his eyes, the first thing he sees is his boyfriend, smiling nervously at him. He looks around, immediately taking in the flashing lights and loud screaming.

“Laser tag?” he asks, not quite sure where this is heading.

“Yeah… I thought it would be fun…” Will trails off, biting his lip, and Nico knows he’s feeling nervous about what the son of Hades will think. Nico leans forward to capture his lips in a firm and passionate kiss.

“I love you,” he says, and Will’s eyes shine, grinning brightly. They’ve said those words to each other before, but they’re usually reserved for more intimate moments.

“I love you too, Death boy.” They smile at each other for a moment, “... but that’s not going to stop me from kicking your ass.”

They both laugh, and the intense atmosphere is broken.

“You wish, Goldilocks,” Nico replies smoothly, grabbing his boyfriend's hand and dragging him towards the counter.

They get kitted out in the special gear provided, Nico remembering the familiar feeling of the plastic vest and gun from when he was in the Lotus Hotel. The son of Hades has 70 years of experience under his belt, and Will thinks he could win? Not a chance.

“I was thinking…” Will says, fiddling with his straps. “That maybe we could use our powers?”

Nico looks at the son of Apollo in confusion. “What do you mean? How would that even work?”

“Well, with my light powers, I can imitate the laser's frequency,” Will explains. “And you can shadow travel. I think it’ll make for an interesting game.”

Nico thinks about it for a second, and he comes to the same conclusion. Will’s light powers would mean he not only has his laser gun to use, he could also use his hands. Not to mention he could reflect the light from an attacker to stop the laser from hitting his vest. On the other hand, Nico could travel through the maze completely undetected and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike when Will’s not looking.

“Okay,” Nico agrees, “but do you want to make it even more interesting?” Will looks intrigued, and Nico can’t help but smirk.

“The winner gets to use that blindfold on the loser tonight.”

Will’s cheeks, predictably, turn as red as a tomato, but that doesn’t stop the obvious interest glinting in his eyes.

“You’re on, di Angelo.”

**  
  
**

* * *

 

**  
  
**

As soon as they’re in the maze, Nico shadow travels away from Will. The first rule of battle is to know your surroundings. He spends time travelling to different parts of the maze, looking for a perfect spot to corner his boyfriend. He occasionally hears other players run by, and shoots them to gain some points, but his ultimate goal is to take down Will.

He’s reloading his gun when he encounters Will for the first time. The sneaky son of Apollo was lying in wait, jumping out and shooting him as soon as he’d started his 10 second reload. There was nothing he could do after that. He was out of the game for 15 seconds, and he wasn’t going to hang around to get revenge. Will could easily block his attacks, now that he knew where Nico was.

“I’m gonna get you for that,” he growls at his boyfriend's smug face. He sinks back into the shadows, but not before hearing Will’s laughter.

Damn, that was a good play by Will, hiding in the shadows and waiting to strike. Beaten at his own game, Nico tightens his grip on the gun, strengthening his resolve. He was _not_ going to let his boyfriend win.

He needed a plan. Will’s offence and defence were both excellent; the only chance he really had was a surprise attack, just like Will had done. But, he would be expecting that and keeping his guard up.

Another group of players runs past him, and he makes sure to shoot them, before disappearing to another part of the maze.

He spots his boyfriend the moment he reappears. Will is crouched down behind a wall, looking at a dark passage, and seemingly waiting for him. That would make sense: Nico tended to travel to a place with the most shadows. But right now, Will is in the perfect spot for him to shoot. He raises his gun, carefully aiming at the sensor on Will’s back, and pulls the trigger.

“Wha-?” Will asks, startled by the flashing lights and noise coming from his vest. He turns around and Nico lets out a cackle of delight. His laughter soon dies when Will’s hands start to glow. He knows it was only a matter of seconds before Will uses his powers to get him back, so he quickly shadow-travels away before that could happen.

Nico spends the remaining few minutes of the game hunting down other players, in order to get as many points as possible. When the announcer calls time, his vest and gun immediately stop working. He hurries back to the entrance, wanting to see the scoreboard before Will.

And, he is not disappointed. Right at the top of the leaderboard is his name, and Will was… He scans the screen in confusion until he sees Will near the bottom. Second to last? Nico frowns. Surely his boyfriend had scored _a lot_ higher than that? He had the equivalent to three guns at his disposal, two of which couldn’t be timed out if he was shot.

“Um... I guess I lost?” Will’s voice comes from behind him.

“Yes,” Nico replies, turning around to face him. “How in Hades did you manage that?”

Will scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “I guess I was too focused on finding you. It didn’t really occur to me to shoot any of the other players.”

Nico fights the urge to roll his eyes and loses. His boyfriend could be so dumb at times.  

The two demigods return their rented equipment before linking hands and making their way back to Jules-Albert and their ride home.

“So what did you think?” Will asks on the way back to camp, resting his head in Nico’s lap.

“I loved it,” he answers truthfully, running his fingers through the son of Apollo’s golden curls.

“Do you think, if we did this, say, once a month, do you think it would help you?”

Nico leans his head back and thinks about it. Going on real, actual dates with Will once a month would surely help his mood, but it wouldn’t get him to the point of complete happiness. It wouldn’t get him to the point where he’s free from stress, worry, and grief. Maybe, nothing will.

“Yeah, but I’m not sure it’ll fix it completely,” he tells his boyfriend honestly.

Will hums in agreement, closing his eyes. “One step at a time, Death boy.”

  
And well, that’s all Nico can ask for.

**Author's Note:**

> When I got the idea for this, it was originally meant to be all fluff, with lighthearted banter and flirting, and then I sat down and wrote it, and I'd somehow made it a little angsty?? 
> 
> Please tell me what you think anyway, criticism is welcome as well as praise. Thanks for reading :D


End file.
